Toronto to spend up to $350M on Gardiner Expressway after dire report

Over the last few months, during the annual summer-time lull in news, Toronto media outlets were blessed with a new hysteria — falling concrete! It turns out that things were even worse than we thought — and in ways even more frightening than mere chunks of concrete falling from the sky.

The elevated Gardiner Expressway, a freeway that swings below the downtown core, provides access to many popular venues right in the core of the city. The areas under the Gardiner are also busy and well travelled — cars and pedestrians pass under the elevated freeway all day and night, generally crossing between their offices and the new condo towers that have sprung up along the lake shore south of the Gardiner. The falling concrete was therefore an eye-level story: Anyone who spends much time downtown probably has to pass under the Gardiner at some point. Every story of falling concrete was very much a “It could have happened to me” moment.

The City of Toronto is looking to spend as much as $350-million over the next decade to rehabilitate the Gardiner Expressway amid revelations that the aging roadway is in worse shape than originally thought.

Senior city officials maintain the highway is structurally sound, but they need to speed up replacement of the entire 7-kilometre elevated deck — a structural component — and will seek funding in a revamped 10-year capital plan, last pegged at $150-million. Crews plan to start smashing through an eastern section next year in order to lay down new steel-reinforced concrete, a waterproofing membrane and asphalt, according to John Kelly, acting director of design and construction of linear infrastructure.

This work is separate from the city’s sometimes futile efforts to stay ahead of shards of concrete falling from the shell of the roadway, built in the late 1950s and early 1960s. An independent assessment released by the city on Friday found that the potential for more chunks to chip off the underbelly poses “a significant hazard to public safety.”

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The city hired engineering specialists IBI Group to survey the Gardiner after several incidents of falling concrete this year. Investigative teams from Coffey Geotechnics Inc. tested seven locations, from Cherry Street to Garrison Road, in late August and early September by striking the surface and noting the change in sound that was emitted to identify spots of concrete that are starting to split. They found cracks, detached fragments known as “spalls,” patches and scaling in places where City of Toronto visual inspections recorded no signs of deterioration.

Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, chair of the public works and infrastructure committee, said the report confirms his suspicions about the state of the Gardiner.

“The engineers would tell you there is no structure that can be made 100% safe. I remain concerned,” said Councillor Minnan-Wong. “It’s an aging structure. It’s in a climate where you have freezes, thaws and salts, and we need to do everything we can and this report helps us in providing a framework.”

Mr. Kelly said the city has already begun a detailed, up-close inspection of the Gardiner, which will continue until the end of the year and should produce an inventory of areas to focus on. Staff will now, following recommendations of the report, consider investing in infrared technology to help with those inspections, plus look at purchasing nets to catch falling debris.

“The Gardiner is structurally sound and safe for use,” said Mr. Kelly. “It is not a structural issue,” added deputy city manager John Livey. He said the report “confirmed our suspicions” that the city has to take extra measures, and as a result it has accelerated its chipping program.

Consultants also said the city should consider fencing off areas that the public is not supposed to access, however for now there are no plans to do so.

The report was sent to John Bryson, the bureaucrat in charge of the Gardiner Expressway, on September 10, around the time he left his job. It was not clear at the time if Mr. Bryson left voluntarily or was terminated. Mr. Minnan-Wong expressed concern he did not see the report until a copy was released to the Toronto Star this week through a freedom of information request. The city councillor had asked for an update more than a month ago, but was told it was not available.

In May, a week after declaring the Gardiner “perfectly safe,” the city dispatched more crews, sped up inspections, and stepped up chipping of loose concrete. City crews were back under the expressway in June to chip away at more sections after several chunks fell onto a Mercedes.

At city hall on Friday, there appeared to be no appetite to reopen the debate about tearing down the expressway, although the call for more repair funding may do it anyway.

“We’re certainly not recommending that,” said Mr. Livey, noting that such an undertaking would be in the billions of dollars.

The city can’t even afford to spend $350-million, said Budget Chief Mike Del Grande, but it will. “The realistic answer is safety, so it takes priority,” he said.

Councillor Doug Ford revived his idea of building another road alongside the Gardiner and tolling it, while Councillor Adam Vaughan said the city should toll the existing expressway to help foot the bill. “This is a really good argument for user fees. If you use it, maintain it,” he said.